Harry Potter fan hopes to bring some magic to homeless families

Thursday

Jul 26, 2007 at 12:01 AMJul 26, 2007 at 1:18 PM

With copies of ``Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,'' the seventh and final book in the Potter series flying off shelves, the Acton resident hopes to use the boy wizard as a way to reach out to homeless people in the region.

By Peter Reuell

Jesse Liberty hopes some magic is real.

With copies of ``Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,'' the seventh and final book in the Potter series flying off shelves, the Acton resident hopes to use the boy wizard as a way to reach out to homeless people in the region.

Spurred by the many families - including his own - he saw purchasing multiple copies of the book, Liberty hopes to begin collecting extra copies of the book once readers are finished, which he plans to donate to area homeless shelters and other charities.

``I was thinking an awful lot of families, like mine, purchased more than one copy ... so our kids could read it at the same time,'' he said.

Rather than hold onto the two copies he purchased for his 18- and 11-year-old daughters, though, Liberty approached the Acton Memorial Library and asked if he could place a box in the building to collect ``extra'' copies of the book.

``After Labor Day, we're going to take that to a homeless shelter, or more than one, depending on how many we have, and see if there are some kids who might like their own copies,'' he said.

``I know some folks will want to keep both copies, but some folks will say, `We don't need to have two or three copies in the house,'' Liberty added. ``Rather than have them toss it, here's an option.''

The idea to donate the books to kids who might not otherwise have their own, Liberty said, came to him as he bought a second copy of the book to avoid any competition between his daughters.

``It seemed like an obvious idea,'' he said. ``I have two books and you have none. It seemed like a way to meet a small need in a small way.''

Whether the idea will work, though, Liberty wasn't sure.

``One thing we don't know is will we get 10 books or will we get 500,'' he said. ``Mostly, people think it's a good idea.

``In my secret fantasy, it goes nationwide, and we start a movement,'' Liberty joked. ``(But) the other possibility is it'll be a total fizzle.''

Whether the idea takes off or not, Liberty says he hopes to at least put books into the hands of kids who want to read them.

``Really, I focused on homeless kids because they are kids that don't really have anything to hang on to,'' he said. ``If they could be part of this national event, that would be great.''

Peter Reuell of The MetroWest Daily News (Framingham, Mass.) can be reached at 508-626-4428, or at preuell@cnc.com